The United Nations educational and cultural organization dedicated to promoting the power of sport around the world, UNESCOtweeted that he was “deeply saddened” by his death and offered his condolences to the Brazilian people and the entire “football family”.
As a 17-year-old, Pelé won his first football or soccer World Cup in 1958 and lifted football’s top trophy twice more, in 1962 and 1970. He scored a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 games during his professional career, which he began when he was just 15 years old.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in 1940 and nicknamed “the black pearl” and “the king”, the football giant retired from football in 1977.
In 1999, the Santos player and Brazil’s most revered star was voted Player of the Century in a poll of previous Ballon d’Or winners – the players who win the annual global football award for their outstanding performances that year.
Points for the United Nations
He devoted much of his retirement to supporting the UN and its work, both as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Children’s Fund UNICEFand since 1994 as UNESCO Champion for Sport.
He was also named a goodwill ambassador for the pivotal UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, one of the first major global development and environmental summits dedicated to a more sustainable future for all.
From the UN audiovisual archives, you can hear Pelé leading a press conference ahead of the Earth Summit, here.
At the time, the summit’s general secretary, Maurice Strong, called him not just the greatest footballer in the world, but “a universal man” with roots in Brazil.
“His commitment to people, to the planet, really sets him apart as a true citizen of our planet,” he told reporters.
UNESCO said in its tweet that he had “worked tirelessly to promote sport as a tool for peace. He will be greatly missed.”
In a tweet, the head of the UN refugee agency said, UNHCRFilippo Grandi wrote that “tonight we are all with the people of Brazil” celebrating “a man who has made millions of children dream, across continents and generations”.
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) Goodwill Ambassador Pele (with children) from Brazil is greeted by children on his way to the plenary hall in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (June 1992)
